Maracana Stadium Tour

The Maracana, officially the Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho, is the most famous football stadium in Brazil and one of the most famous in the world. It was built for the 1950 World Cup, when it was the largest stadium on earth, and the final match of that tournament, in which Uruguay beat Brazil in front of a crowd officially counted at around 170,000 and probably larger, became a national trauma remembered as the Maracanazo. Since then the stadium has been the stage for most of the great moments of Brazilian football: Pele scored his thousandth goal here in 1969, Zico, Garrincha and Romario played here, and it hosted the final of the 2014 World Cup and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games. It was rebuilt inside for 2014 and now holds around 78,000 spectators. Two of Rio's great clubs, Flamengo and Fluminense, play their home matches here, and a big derby, when the stands are a wall of flags and the noise is overwhelming, is one of the great experiences of any trip to Brazil. On non-match days the stadium is open for tours. A standard visit, like the skip-the-line ticket linked here, takes you through the press room, the dressing rooms with the shirts of current players hanging on the pegs, and down the players' tunnel to the edge of the pitch, as well as into the stands for the view of the bowl, with displays on the history of the stadium and the great matches it has hosted. A behind-the-scenes version with a guide and transport is also offered. At the entrance, the Calcada da Fama, the walk of fame, preserves the footprints of legends of the game. The tour also gives a sense of how the stadium works on a match day, from the warm-up areas to the mixed zone where players meet the press, and guides on the longer tour tell the stories of famous goals, rivalries and the samba-like chanting of the torcidas, the organised fan groups. The stadium is easily reached by metro, with its own station, Maracana, on line 2, and tours generally run every day, with restricted or cancelled visits on match days and during events.

Watching a match: if your trip coincides with a home game for Flamengo or Fluminense, especially a Fla-Flu derby, consider going. Tickets are sold through the clubs, often requiring a local registration, and many visitors buy through a hosted tour that includes a guide, a ticket and transport, which is the simplest and safest option. Arrive early to soak up the atmosphere, wear neutral colours or the colours of the home side, and leave with the crowd by metro or arranged transport.

How to visit well: check the stadium calendar before you book a tour, as match days and events close or shorten visits. Mornings are quieter. The tour is mostly on foot, with stairs and slopes, and takes about an hour. Combine the stadium with the nearby Quinta da Boa Vista park, or with the Sambadrome and the historic centre on the same side of the city.

Who it suits: football fans of course, but also anyone interested in Brazilian culture, since football here is part of national identity. Children who play the game will be thrilled to walk the tunnel. Non-fans may find the tour short but still enjoy the scale of the bowl and the stories of 1950 and 2014. Whatever your level of interest, wear something comfortable, bring water on hot days, and allow time at the shop if you want a shirt of one of the Rio clubs, which make good souvenirs of a city where football is a daily conversation.